1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an attachable member to be detachably installed, for example, to main body of various electric, electronic, and mechanical devices or apparatuses, an attaching mechanism, and a printer provided with the attaching mechanism.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, an ink cartridge-detecting mechanism is known, which is capable of detecting whether or not an ink cartridge is installed, by means of a reflection type optical sensor (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,044,590 B2, U.S. Pat. No. 7,261,403 B2, and U.S. 2008/0007603 A1 corresponding to Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2004-1480).
In the case of this ink cartridge-detecting mechanism, when the ink cartridge is not installed, the light, which is emitted from a light-emitting section of the optical sensor, is received by a light-receiving section. Accordingly, it is possible to detect or sense that the ink cartridge is not installed. When the ink cartridge is installed, then the light, which is emitted from the light-emitting section of the optical sensor, is shielded by a light-shielding section, and the light is not received by the light-receiving section. Accordingly, it is possible to detect or sense that the ink cartridge is installed. In this way, it is possible to detect whether or not the ink cartridge is installed by using the optical sensor.